Different Paths, Same Destination
HOLLIS and HOLLIS for Archival Discovery
There are two easy ways to search for finding aids of Harvard collections. The first is through HOLLIS, Harvard's library catalog, which contains millions of records ranging from vinyl records, to Medieval manuscripts, to today's New York Times Bestsellers. The second, and most direct, is through HOLLIS for Archival Discovery, Harvard's finding aid database. Not everything in Harvard's collections is represented in these two systems; for further help, contact a specific repository.
HOLLIS
HOLLIS is the one-search for all types of material available through Harvard Libraries: archival material, course reserves, circulating books, digital databases, and much more. HOLLIS is great when you want to get a broad idea of all your research options, but you can still find your way to finding aids if you know how to search. Here is more information about HOLLIS.
Searching HOLLIS:
- Enter your search term into the search bar. If you are looking for an exact phrase, you can put quotation marks around your search term. When you begin to type, a drop-down menu will give you three options: 1) Catalog and Articles, 2) Library Catalog, or 3) Reserves (Books & Media). To find archival materials at Harvard, you'll want to limit the search to "Library Catalog."
- Library Catalog results will include many types of resources, including books, audio-visual material, and archival collections. There are many options to narrow your search, but if you want to see just archival collections, you can select "Archives/Manuscripts" under "Resource Type."
- When you click into a record from the search results, you will be brought to a catalog record that represents the whole archival collection. This record contains high-level, less detailed description than the finding aid. If there is a finding aid for that collection (not all archival collections have a finding aid), there will be a button with a folder icon and the words "FINDING AID." Click there for the link out to the finding aid in HOLLIS for Archival Discovery.
- The link will bring you to the top level of the finding aid, but does not necessarily show you the specific search term you looked for in HOLLIS. You can re-enter the search term in the search box at the top of the finding aid. The search will pull up every reference to that term in the finding aid.
HOLLIS for Archival Discovery
HOLLIS for Archival Discovery is your go-to spot if you are specifically looking for archival material. This tool searches across Harvard special collections and archives repositories and brings you aggregated results. Here is a basic guide to searching and refining your search to get closer to your specific research interests. Here is more information about HOLLIS for Archival Discovery.
Searching HOLLIS for Archival Discovery:
- Start by typing your term into the search bar. In the drop-down menu to the left of the search bar, you can select what your term is: keyword, name, place, subject, title, container, or identifier.
- Once you search a term, you will get a list of results grouped by collection. You can use the "LIMIT YOUR SEARCH" options to refine the search further. For example, if you are only looking for digital content, you can select "Digital Content" under the Digital Materials option.
